I never enjoy the Paranormal Activity movies that much. Yet
I find myself watching every time a new one comes out. I don’t know why I
haven’t given up on the series yet. Probably for the few moments in each movie
that’s actually quite good. At any rate, I’m glad I kept watching. Paranormal
Activity 5 is the best of the series, mitigating some, though not all, of the
series’ flaws. It’s actually a pretty good horror movie.
There are some issues with the Paranormal Activity films
that vex me every time. The main issue is that, for the most part, nothing
happens. I understand the intention. The films repeat banal, mundane non-events
so often—when we know there’s more going on—that we’re supposed to be writhing
with suspense during every pointless shot of the backyard pool. I was writhing,
alright. And moaning, “Another shot of the pool!” And then, when you least
expect it, you get an eruption of the supernatural. It’s a legitimate technique
that’s just belabored to an extreme. Most of the movie isn’t movie at all.
The other issue that irritates me is that the protagonists
really don’t ‘protag.’ This is worse than the boring non-events. The characters
of the Paranormal Activity movies spend most of the time ensuring that
something sinister is indeed afoot. Once they receive confirmation, they wait
around until they die, tossed like ragdolls by forces they’re powerless
against. Whether it’s the demonic entities or the coven that serves them, evil
always triumphs over good. Because good doesn’t do jack shit.
I suppose it’s just the Paranormal Activity philosophy that
passivity generates more fright for the viewer. The moment the hero or heroine
starts fighting back, it’s more adrenaline than fear, more action than terror.
I don’t think that’s true—High Tension and Dog Soldiers, amongst others, seem
to prove otherwise—but Oren Peli seems to believe it.
Each film in the series does tend to betray Peli more and
more, developing plots and vague attempts at action. Paranormal Activity 5
finally escapes the stifling atmosphere before going back into freefall. In
this one, some Hispanic teens at an apartment complex get a video camera and
decide to record the creepy, old lady downstairs. They find her prancing around
a naked girl with big tits. Not long after this, the old lady is murdered and
they think their class valedictorian was responsible. Before they can crack the
case, one of the teenagers is suddenly gifted with supernatural powers and
supernatural roid rage.
The style is a lot more dynamic than the previous Paranormal
Activity movies. These kids move around instead of just setting up the camera
for still shots of something that may or may not happen around the
pool/closet/Playstation. With that comes the most obvious response of, “Why the
hell don’t they put down the camera?” It may not make sense, but at least it
makes a movie. They try to fight against their supernatural foes. And while it ultimately
ends as every Paranormal Activity movie ends, at least one semi-automatic
weapon has been fired before it gets there. Moreover, there’s a girl with big
tits.
I also enjoyed the fact that the kids are Hispanic apartment
dwellers instead of White yuppies with more money and picket fences than common
sense. If I had to see another White guy thrown around a tastefully furnished middle
class room by an invisible presence, I might’ve been done with the series. I don't think there's any real 'subtext' about apartment life or Hispanic American culture; it just revives the series with more energy and a fresh perspective.
What’s also kinda neat is how every Paranormal
Activity movie builds on this mythos they have going on. It’s building at a
snail’s pace, but a little more is invented with each movie. This one somehow
ties into the previous movies. Rather than sticking in the same ‘family drama,’
the connection is a lot more creative. I actually enjoyed this one as a movie
in its own right and as a Paranormal Activity movie.
